TSI explain about respirator fit testing and infection prevention for hospital staff and healthcare workers, and how they can best support the healthcare industry
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus Covid-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. In this blogpost, we look at UK healthcare workers and fit testing FFP3 masks as part of infection prevention best practices.
The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was undetected before the Wuhan, China outbreak was reported in December 2019. It had already spread to 94 countries within the first 10 weeks. Since then, the virus has led to over 106,000 confirmed cases and around 3,600 deaths by the beginning of March 2020.
According to the WHO and industry experts, control measures and infection prevention are critical to reduce the risk of Covid-19 virus spreading from infected patients to visitors or healthcare workers. In the Covid-19 outbreak, data is still emerging, but reports indicate significant numbers of healthcare workers are being infected. Hospital-associated transmission is suspected as the presumed mechanism of infection for affected health professionals.
The TSI PortaCount® Respirator Fit Tester features intelligent touchscreen solutions, providing assistance across your entire respiratory protection program from training through compliance.
FFP3 masks must fit to the user’s face to be effective
Providing the highest quality FFP3 respirators to healthcare workers and enforcing their use is only the first step. The efficiency of a respirator's filter material alone does not reduce dangers posed by airborne hazards.
The other necessary step is to reduce exposure by ensuring that respirators fit. If a respirator does not seal properly to a person’s face, the airborne hazards can leak underneath.
h the face piece seal and into healthcare worker's breathing zone. Respiratory protective equipment must form a seal to the user’s face to provide protection. Small leaks allow harmful materials into the mask that the user will breathe. The only way to know if respiratory protective equipment fits correctly is to perform a fit test. Fit testing is an activity that evaluates how well the respirator face piece seals to the user’s face.
Achieve a Better Fit and a More Productive You
The TSI PortaCount® Respirator Fit Tester features intelligent touchscreen solutions, providing assistance across your entire respiratory protection program from training through compliance. The instrument takes real time measurements during movement under real-world conditions to provide both staff and administrators with a greater understanding of how a respirator may or may not fit – for any respirator, including all filtering facepiece respirators. The FitPro™ Ultra software automatically saves each fit test – no need to worry about remembering to save the fit test after completion.
Choose the industry’s most trusted fit tester to increase your staff’s safety, while new software and features improve your programme’s efficiency and productivity.
Please contact TSI if you need more information or if you are interested in purchasing a PortaCount Respirator Fit Tester.
